Official Synopsis:
In a small southern town, Davie Nance (Emily Carpenter) is recovering from another miscarriage. Unable to sleep, she spends her nights spying on her handsome new neighbor, Clay (Sean Patrick Flanery), who has moved in with his grandfather across the street. Soon, Davie and Clay develop a friendship that threatens Davie's marriage and her clean cut reputation. Davie finds herself torn between her connection with Clay and her commitment to her husband.
  
Our Take:

There’s one scene in Crystal River that shows a happy baby being bathed in the kitchen sink, and his smile unintentionally does for the movie what the writers meant to do, but failed to, with all the other scenes: bring a smile to someone’s face. In fact, the deeper I got into this movie, the murkier it became.

Why, I asked myself, would a devout small town Christian woman, heavily involved in church volunteer efforts, throw away her life and marriage to start stalking a new neighbor? In order to make the plot move, the script has the main character of the movie act more like the women on Sex in the City than a church-going woman who is a devoted wife and widely respected in her community. Is it reasonable that such a person would turn her back on both her husband and her religion to hide behind trees at night to catch glimpses of some guy after he returns from his nightly jog? Would she go into his house by herself at night for drinks -- and in a fit of drunken hi-jinks, “borrow” her husband’s new boat from the driveway as he sleeps soundly upstairs -- so she and this guy can take it out on the river for a night of “clean fun?”

I don’t think so.

Do those things happen? Sure they do. But viewers are asked to believe that such a previously strait-laced woman abandoned her entire way of life because of a number of miscarriages. I think someone who has a deep faith in God would either continue to try for children or accept barrenness as “God’s will.” That is obviously a personal issue for different people, but the character motivation just didn’t work for me. I’m sure the movie is supposed to be a spiritually uplifting movie with a moral about confirming God’s existence and impact on people’s lives. However, looking at little Isaac’s smiling face as he’s bathed in the kitchen sink does more to affirm the existence of God than all the rambling, convoluted dialog and plot twists even came close to.

There are two extras included with the DVD.

* Blooper Reel (5 minutes) – Some goof-ups by cast members were caught on film.

* Behind the Scenes with the Cast (7 minutes) – A look at the filming of the movie.

I didn’t hate Crystal River and it is certainly suitable family viewing but it is not great entertainment by any measure. People searching for wholesome movies without sex or violence will probably appreciate the movie. I’m not sure it has much of an audience outside that demographic.

Overall Picture:
Movie: C
DVD: C

- Tony Gray

Staff Writer